This invention relates in general to the projection of imagery and more particularly to a wide angle projection apparatus and process.
Flight simulation in order to be truly realistic, must have the flight scene that the pilot observes projected over an extremely wide area, which is usually a spherical surface that surrounds the cockpit from which the simulated flight is conducted. Normally, several projectors are used, some which are behind the spherical display surface and project their images through apertures in the surface, while others may be at the simulated cockpit beyond the view of the pilot. In any event, the use of several projectors substantially increases the cost of flight simulation because the projectors in themselves are extremely expensive and must be coordinated to provide a realistic composite. In this regard, the video ranges used in most flight simulators are derived from television cameras and are projected from light valve projectors which are considerably more expensive than the more common CRT projectors. Moreover, it is difficult to precisely merge the adjacent images cast by different projectors, and as a consequence highly visible lines of demarcation exist within the composite scene that is produced.